Vbeta8 T cell receptor (TCR Vbeta8) subfamily has three members, Vbeta8.1, 8.2, and 8.3. These subfamily members are variants of the TCR beta chain that along with the TCR alpha chain forms the TCR heterodimer, responsible for the recognition of peptides presented by the MHC molecules. Murine Vbeta8+ T cells recognize the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB); in vivo administration of SEB results in the negative selection of Vbeta8+ cells in the thymus. Vbeta8 is one of the most frequently found beta chains on the infiltrating T cells in the brain of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), and on the T cells response to Toxoplasma gondii.